Implementing Social Media
In today's social media driven world, news sites need to adapt to technology in order to remain relevant. CNN, The New York Times, Vice Media, BuzzFeed and Reddit have all applied social media to attract and retain its news audiences. However, none of the sources have successfully adapted to social media in today's world. By observing the chart below, (Pew Research, 2012) which pictures where people got their news yesterday, it is noticeable that people are shifting towards getting their news digitally and online. As of 2012, 50% of people got their news digitally and 39% of people got their news online or on their mobile phones. As people continue to get their news on digital devices, news sources need to give their audiences a positive experience online. Utilizing social media and a mobile phone application is the starting point for attracting and retaining news audiences today. : "As previous news consumption surveys have found, people who enjoy following the news tend to get more news from a variety of sources. Fully 71% of those who enjoy following the news a lot watched television shows yesterday, compared with just 41% of those who get less enjoyment from keeping up" (Pew Research, 2012). : Utilizing social media is prevalent in today's day and age, but it isn't booming just yet. As of now, social media networks are an additional way to get the news, rather than a replacement source. This means news sources need to continue to keep up with the design and aesthetics drawing people to their site, but also implement other ways to get their news. Specifically, I want to talk about Facebook and Twitter. : On Facebook, news mainly comes through family and friends. On Twitter, people get their news from a broader mix of recommenders. Interestingly enough, 70% of people who get their news on Facebook hear about it from family and friends, while 13% get recommendations from news organizations or individual journalists. Twitter users get 36% of their news recommendations from friends and family and 27% from news organizations. This goes to show that most people on social media are getting their news tips from the organizations themselves on Twitter rather than Facebook. The five sources I examined in terms of design and layout will also be examined here. The following passages talk about the news sites and their involvement in social media. 1. CNN does not advertise for its social media wisely. On its site, there is a tiny header that reads, "Follow Us," with a Facebook and Twitter icon below it. There are almost 14 million likes on CNN's Facebook page and 13 million followers on Twitter. 2. The NYT currently has about 7 million likes on Facebook and 12 million followers on Twitter. Currently, 55% of New York Times regular newspaper readers say they read their news mostly on a computer or digital device (Pew Research, 2012). NYT needs to address the disconnect between their Facebook and Twitter followers. 3. Vice Media utilizes Facebook and Twitter as well, advertising it on the top lefthand corner of their online page. Vice has about 3 million Facebook likes and 214,000 Twitter followers. Vice needs to attract more users to its Twitter site. 4. BuzzFeed advertises for its Facebook and Twitter feed in the top righthand corner of its online page. BuzzFeed has 3 million Facebook likes and a little over 1 million Twitter followers. BuzzFeed has the same problem as Vice and NYT in terms of inconsistent follows and needs to address that issue. 5. Reddit is the only site that does not advertise for social media on its online page. As such, Reddit has merely 550,000 likes on Facebook and 238,000 followers on Twitter.